Hypnotherapy

WHAT IS HYPNOTHERAPY ?

Most of us are familiar with stage hypnosis, but therapeutic hypnosis is a natural and neurological reality, it uses the brain’s natural capabilities to reach a state of heightened awareness. This state of consciousness, or hypnotic trance is a normal state that we go into several times a day without realising it, during waking dreams or when we are absorbed in a good film or book, and is a state between wakefulness and sleep .

In the context of a hypnotherapy consultation, the practitioner uses specific techniques to guide the patient with their voice, ethically and respectfully, to achieve this state so as to initiate the required change.

Thanks to recent discoveries in neuroscience it is now understood that the hypnotic state works very effectively and efficiently on how we function psychologically, emotionally and physically.

Hypnotherapy is a fundamental tool for change, learning and self-healing.

Although this therapeutic practice is very ancient it took conventional medicine many years to accept that it leaves the stage and enters hospitals. It was recognised by the French « ordre des médecins » in 2005 and is now considered to be one of the most innovative brief therapies.

It is important to underline the fact that the patients do not lose control of themselves at all, nor are they asleep. On the contrary and in a lot of cases they rediscover the control over their emotions, free themselves from blockages or automatic patterns and responses that have handicapped them and regain control of their health.

WHAT CAN IT BE USED FOR?

Hypnosis and self-hypnosis are effective in many domains, here is a non-exhaustive list of the more frequents demands:

WHAT DOES A HYPNOTHERAPY CONSULTATION CONSIST OF ?

Hypnotherapy consultations last approximately 90 minutes.

A normal consultation always begins with a period of exchange and discussion where the patient describes their problem and desired change. It is a moment of unbiased listening that requires a relationship based on trust where the practitioner utilises the patient’s life-view or “map of the world” to achieve positive results that are coherent with his/her value system.

It is during this preparatory phase where the case history is discussed that the practitioner decides on the intervention strategy and the best way to use hypnosis.

Then there is the hypnotic session itself after which there is a short period of exchange where the patient and the practitioner take stock and agree on the next steps forward.

It can happen that a single session is sufficient to achieve the required change, and if subsequent consultations are required, these take place at 2 to 3 week intervals. Only in certain specific cases such as in the case of depression or the hypnotic gastric band can hypnotherapeutic sessions take place weekly for a short period.